Eat, Play, Run

Ballard: Lunchbox Laboratory

I've tried many a great burger in my day. My favorites tend to be low-brow... Shake Shack in NY and In-and-Out in LA. On the upscale side, I really like the burger at NY's Spotted Pig.

Here in Seattle, the burger choices aren't that great. In fact, I may just have to try them all. Over three years in New York, I probably tried 20 different hamburgers, from as diverse places as Bobby Flay's Bar Americain (surprisingly, not that good) to the vending machine at Bamn! in the East Village (surprisingly, not that bad).

It's been about five years since my last Red Mill burger, so this may change, but for now, I say Lunchbox Laboratory has the best burgers in the city. I've tried two different types, the beef patty w/truffle mayo and bacon and the dork (duck/pork) patty with bacon and cheddar. Both are outstanding.

This weekend's outing was my intro into dork. Somehow, the duck/pork just works. The patty holds together nicely and gaminess really gives the burger a distinct flavor. It was cooked perfectly. The one negative to the burger, and this is true of the beef burger I recently tried, is that it's a tad salty. Next time I'll try it sans bacon to see if that makes a difference.

I ordered the burger with tater tots. Old school excellent tots. I could eat those little nuggets of goodness all day long.

Lunchbox Laboratory is not cheap. The average burger with fixins will run you around $13. Is it worth it? I say, Hell yes!

Skillet

Following @skilletstfood on Twitter, I knew I had to have the duck tacos prior to a Mariners. Unfortunately, the guy in front of me ordered the last tacos! I was crushed. The disappointment must've shown on my face because the woman taking the orders gave me my blackberry lemonade for free.

Being a big fan of burgers, I got over duck tacos pretty quickly. And what a burger it was. The beef tasted very fresh, the bun excellent and the toppings were great. Honestly, I didn't know what I was actually eating until I got home: grass fed beef, cambozola cheese, arugula,bacon jam on a brioche roll. I'm not sure I've ever had cambozola, but it's the perfect cheese for a burger. It's like a mild gorgonzola, with a smoother consistency.

The french fries are some of the best I've had in Seattle. The blackberry lemonade could've been a bit more tart.

Overall, the Skillet truck is definitely worth tracking down.

LiveStrong Challenge Seattle: 5K

Today, I ran my first race since the New York Marathon last November. It was only a 5k, so I never really trained for it. My running, though, had been going great until I got sick 15 days ago. I'm still not feeling 100%. I have a cough that erupts every time I lay my head down. It sucks!

Because I can't sleep due to the cough, I've only run three times in the past two weeks. The first time out, I stopped after a mile. The next time, I did a nice six miles. Yesterday, I did two just to see if my legs still worked.

So, my expectations weren't high, but, I was really looking forward to racing again. I picked up my number yesterday at the Seattle Center and was surprised to see that there wasn't a timing chip. Today, though came the real surprise. They didn't have a clock at the start/finish line. Is it really a race when there are no timing clocks?

To make a long story short, my time was 28:10. Even for being sick, this is really slow. Healthy, I would've finished right around 24:00, or 8-minute miles. I felt like I was around 8:45 - 9:00 minute miles, so I'm guessing/hoping the course was long. There were no mile marker until you got to the end and it said "380m to the finish". At that point, it wasn't really necessary since you could see the finish line. If anyone was wearing a GPS and got a measured distance of the course, please comment below.

The start chute was really narrow, so I was worried it would take awhile to hit my natural pace, but things opened up pretty quickly. By 50 meters, I was at full stride with no dodging people.

Overall, it was a well organized run. I just wish they took the 'race' a little more seriously with markers at each mile with clocks and timing chips.

Central District: The Original Philly's

I have been jonesing for Philly cheesesteak for, oh, I don't know, about nine months, or as long as I've been in Seattle. See my original post on my grand Philadelphia experiment.

The other day, while meeting some friends in Columbia City, I passed a little shop called The Original Philly's. I was determined to get there this weekend.

There isn't much ambiance to the place, nor would I expect it. What I wanted though, was a greasy, fatty, great cheesesteak. That's not exactly what I got... but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

The cheesesteak at Original Philly's is great in it's own way. The steak they use is excellent. They also subtly mix in the cheese and onions. Combined, it makes for a fantastic sandwich. But, when I eat a cheesesteak, I prefer greasy slop running down my chin. This sandwich is actually a little too clean, a little too "healthy". Still, it's a really good sandwich, and as it's only a five minute drive my apartment, I'll add to my 'visit often' rotation.

Oh, the fries. Crinkly fries, cooked perfectly. I like the way they pepper them. Very good.

Downtown: Unconventional Pizza

The suck that is Unconventional Pizza cannot be described in words or picture. Located in the Convention Center, thus the name (I hope), they serve up a flat, taste-free slice of pizza... for $3.50! The cheese is blobby, the pepperoni has no kick, and the crust is soggy.

If you're in a hurry, and craving pizza, you would be much better served popping into a 7-11 and getting a Red Baron frozen pizza and throwing it in a microwave. Skip right past Unconventional Pizza. It pretty much blows.

Downtown: Dahlia Lounge

As far as national recognition goes, Tom Douglas is arguably Seattle's best known Celebrity Chef. He's a James Beard Award winner and has appeared on both Emeril and Giada's television shows. He's also been a challenger on Iron Chef America, beating down my boy Iron Chef Morimoto.

While Douglas now has restaurants all over Seattle, his signature restaurant remains the Dahlia Lounge. I've been to the Dahlia a couple of times for lunch, but only recently visited for dinner.

My expectations were pretty high, and for the most part they were met.

We started with a simple green salad. The lettuce was fresh and the dressing tangy. The salad was topped with finely grated Parmesan. As a green salad, it was fine, not memorable.

The appetizer we ordered, though, is where the fun began. We had the farm fresh duck egg, served over brioche and topped with watercress and warm duck liver. Considering I'm not much of an egg fan, I'm shocked at how good this dish is. I was always afraid of liver growing up, but I've become a big fan. Together, the duck and liver make a delicious appetizer.

For her main course, Jill ordered the Grilled Washington grilled beef strip loin, which is served with a baked potato fritter and asparagus. The baked potato fritter is amazing. Nicely crisp on the outside, hot and smooth on the inside, it was highlight of the dish. The asparagus was fine. The steak though, I didn't think was up to snuff. I know it's a strip loin, which is one of the more muscley cuts of steak, but it was still overly tough. Cutting through it with a steak knife was a bit of a chore.

While my inclination was to also order the steak, at the last minute I decided to try something else. It was a wise choice. The Grilled Parmesan Dumpling is a must order. It's served with mushrooms in a fava bean ragu. I've never had anything like it. It comes two to an order. I highly recommend ordering it as a second appetizer or even as your main course. I don't even like fava beans, but the whole dish really comes together.

Dessert. Ahh, dessert. Jill ordered the fresh donuts served with vanilla mascarpone and jam. I ordered Tom's world famous creme caramel. I'm a big fan of donuts, and I really liked these little bite sized pieces of fried dough. I tried with both sauces. But, I actually liked it best with just sugar and cinnamon. The creme caramel, though, takes dessert to the next level. Oh my God, I've never had anything so smooth and light in all my life. It's hard to explain, it's like licking a pane of glass (really? I couldn't think of anything smoother than a pane of glass? I need to buy a thesaurus). Anyway, I'm obviously no good at explaining how the creme caramel feels in your mouth, but it's something you need to try before you die. It's that good. Hmmm, I may need to put together my Ulimate Meal soon.

So, the Dahlia Lounge. It's been around forever. If you live in Seattle and are reading this, you've no doubt already been. But, for my friends in New York, mark this down as another place you'll need to try when you come to visit.

International District: Crawfish King

Living in the ID, sometimes you want a meal that isn't served with rice. Not often, but it does happen.

I've now been to Crawfish King at least a half-dozen times. They're nothing if not consistent. The food is served is served fairly quickly and it's pretty good (and cheap).

I always order the same thing... one pound of crawfish, medium heat, served prepared in the garlicky "House Special" sauce. The "Rajun Cajun" sauce, with is more authentic, however, is also good. The crawfish is excellent and the sauce is finger lickin' good. Just make sure to wash your hands after you eat, or rubbing your eyes could be quite painful. Oh, don't be afraid to tie on the silly bib. Your shirt will thank you later.

For a starter, I've settled in with a cup of gumbo w/rice. OK, even when I don't want rice, I eat it anyway. I order the gumbo at high heat. I wish there was something between the medium and high, but high is OK. I'm not a gumbo expert, but I like this a lot, too. I'm guessing the gumbo is better in New Orleans, but if I was served this in the French Quarter, I would not be disappointed.

I've tried the catfish po boy and the shrimp po boy. Neither of them did much for me. The fries were terrible.

I tend to be full after the gumbo and crawfish, so I've yet to try the cobbler or beignets. I guess I need to make a return trip...

Downtown: Wild Ginger

Wild Ginger is my favorite restaurant in Seattle. Yes, there was a time I liked it more, but I'm not sure if that was because the food was better or if my palate has become more refined. Eat enough meals at Nobu and Lupa, and you're bound to set a higher standard for your food.

Since returning to Seattle, I've eaten at Wild Ginger three times, with three different sets of visitors. All three meals scored big points with my friends, two visiting from NY and one from LA.

At Wild Ginger, you order family-style, so it's easy to try many different dishes. On this night we had two appetizers, followed by four main dishes and dessert.

We started with an order of chicken potstickers. I like them because they're simple. Nothing fancy, just a nice tasting dumpling. Our other appetizer is one of the house specialties, the Siam Lettuce Cup. It's a mixture of fish, peanuts, basil, lime and tamarind which you then wrap in a piece of butter lettuce. It's delicious. Over the years, this dish has evolved. By the way, it kicks the crap out of those PF Chang's Lettuce Cups, so don't be afraid to try it if the PF Chang's version has tainted you!

We had a nice mix of dishes for our main meal. I wasn't doing the ordering, so we actually ended up with a vegetable on the table. I know, crazy, right? The Sichuan Green Beans are deep fried, then stir fried in a hot, spicy oil. In other words, this might be the least healthy vegetable dish ever served. But, damn it's good.

For seafood we ordered the Black Pepper Scallops. This is another simple dish. The sea scallops are seared in soy sauce and black pepper. Of the night's dishes, this seemed to the the favorite of the out-of-towners. For having three ingredients, it's very flavorful.

Next up was the Seven Flavor Beef. The seven flavors are: lemongrass, peanuts, hoison, chilies, basil, garlic and ginger rubbed into flank steak. The beef is then quickly dry fried. While the others seemed to prefer the scallops, this one was my favorite. Let's face it, I like beef. But there's so much flavor here, I can't help but love this dish. Overall, t's become my favorite at Wild Ginger.

Finally, we had the other specialty of the house, the Wild Ginger Fragrant Duck. The duck, which is so well prepared, you really don't the accoutrements, is somehow cooked where the flavor and moistness of the duck is there, yet without the normal greasiness. As for those accoutrements, you're supposed to wrap the duck in a lovely, sweet steamed bun, then top with cilantro and a plum sauce. For me, I love the buns and the duck and I just skip the other stuff.

For dessert, we had a strawberry rhubarb tart topped with vanilla ice cream. The rhubarb was very tart, to the point if I didn't swallow it down with the ice cream, it was almost painful. The tart part was good, though. I don't think the dessert stacked up to the meal. I was supposed to quote my friend here, but I can't remember what she said.

Overall, a fine meal. I still love Wild Ginger. I probably always will. The scary thing? They're opening a Wild Ginger in the lobby of the office building we just moved into. Ugh. I can't imagine how much time and money I'm going to spend there!

Ballard: Ray's Boathouse

My friend Karen came to Seattle this week for work. Her only free night to meet up was Sunday night. She had no idea what kind of food she wanted or where she wanted to go.

She wanted something Northwest, that she couldn't get in New York... and really wasn't interested in seafood. Hmmm. I'm pretty sure you can eat in anything New York. Looking back, I probably should've chosen Thai food, because outside of seafood, that's the one area where northwest cuisine kicks the crap out of New York.

But, going against her wishes, I chose Ray's Boathouse in Ballard. It was a beautiful evening, so getting a table along the windows that overlook the Puget Sound was perfect.

We each started with a salad. Karen a Dungeness Crab salad that she said she enjoyed. I went with the Boathouse Salad, made up of butter lettuce, blue cheese, almonds, and a raspberry-thyme vinaigrette. I loved this salad. In fact, I liked it more than my entree, but more on that a little later.

For her main course, I sort of insisted Karen order the Copper River King. She wanted something "northwest"... it doesn't get more northwest than Copper River salmon, right? Her salmon was pretty good. It was light and had great salmon flavor, though maybe a little on the dry side. It was served over a bed of mashed potatoes and asparagus. I never order salmon at restaurants because my brother tends to catch them quite often, and when he does, we usually have a big family dinner.

My meal, though, wasn't all that great. I ordered the Chatham Strait Sablefish in Sake Kasu. Prepared much like Chilean Sea Bass in an Asian restaurant, the fish itself was very fresh and well cooked. There, was one fatal flaw, though. It was WAY over-salted. I'm not sure what went wrong there, but the saltiness really detracted from the flavor of the fish and the sauce. This is supposed to be their "award-winning specialty"... but I can't recommend it.

What I can recommend whole-heartedly is the sinful Marcia's Chocolate Folly dessert. It's a delightful, rich, flourless chocolate cake topped with a mascarpone cream, served over a dribbling of mint coulis and bittersweet chocolate sauce. It's wonderful. Our server recommended a scoop of vanilla ice cream to offset the richness of the cake. It was a great call. We killed the dessert in less than five minutes.

On a beautiful day, Ray's seems like a good spot to take out of town guests who are looking for a "Seattle" experience. But, I'm not sure I've visit otherwise. The view is impressive, but the food is rather pedestrian.

(Ray's sign image courtesy "borrowed" from likeme.net. FYI, you click on any of the small images found on the blog for larger pictures.)